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I'm hoping someone has some insight on this. My situation is a bit different in that I need all season tires w/ the best possible snow traction. I live in an area that NEVER sees snow, and hardly ever sees rain, however I drive up to the mountains regularly during the winder where I'll see all sorts of weather. Basically I'm looking for the closest thing to a snow tire which still works good as an all season and isn't going to wear out too fast. *EDIT* Looking for 15" tires for stock Subaru Steelies.

Originally I had been looking at the General's (close to a year ago) but now am finding these other two options. Although the Michelin's are an actual snow tire it looks like, so I'm guessing they're not right for me considering 99% of my driving will be on dry pavement. If there's not a big difference between the General's and Pirelli's I'll probably opt for the Generals since they're cheap. Anyone have any input? TIA.

Thanks for the tip Donzo, unfortunately they don't make them in a 15". I do have a set of 16's as well, but they're currently being used by my brother. He lives in Tahoe and his S03's weren't cutting it so I'm letting him use my 16's for a set of Blizzak's.

check out the RE960's or BF Goodrich Traction T/A one of them should be made in your size

check out the RE960's or BF Goodrich Traction T/A one of them should be made in your size

The BF Goodrich's didn't pop up but looks like they are available in another size that'd work for me, but both those and the RE960's still show worse ratings (albeit very slightly) than the General Altimax HP's regarding snow traction, and the Generals are cheaper. Is there another reason to opt for the Bridgestones or BF Goodrichs?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Wevrick

Looks like the Continental Extreme Contact DWS would be your best choice.

Question about the Contis and the road hazard warranty they come with. If I buy the Contis from TR, can I go to any tire retailer if something comes up? Or am I limited to dealing with TR in case of any event?

I'm trying to figure out if buying from a store (i.e. nationwide chain) that offers free flat repairs is worth the extra cost and whether it makes sense to avoid Contis because I can't get them locally, even though I think they're the better tire.

Take a look at the .pdf "The Road Hazard Program Certificate," too. It's in plain English.

The program is administered by Sonsio, so you can check them out, too.

All that is the long way of saying that yes, Sonsio/TireRack is very trustworthy for this, and that no, you're not limited to dealing with TR: rather, you go through both your chosen local shop as well as Sonsio (the .pdf explains it).

If something should happen, just follow those steps, and you're assured the proper reimbursement.

How do I know?

I claimed reimbursement on one of my wife's Xi2s last winter. It ate a nail - a giant one - in the sidewall. One 10-minute phone-call at a local shop (again, it's your choice as to which one), and that was all it took for the new tire to be shipped there and installed (installation was out-of-pocket, IIRC), and for the check to reimburse you to be on the way, too.

Hell, if you forget to cash the check, they'll even send you a reminder.

Sonsio's professionalism is truly second-to-none. While I keep all paperwork when it comes to my car (owned) for my wife's (leased), it's more haphazard. I couldn't find my original TR invoice for her Xi2s, so I feared the worst when I called Sonsio to make the claim. Yeah, I didn't need to worry - they even went and found a copy of the original for me.

So, if you want to go that route, don't worry about it, you're covered. My personal experience testifies to that.

But I'd encourage you to call Luke and talk to him, to see if you truly need the Road Hazard Warranty.

As-always, I'd automatically included it, in my purchase this winter. With my past experiences, why would I not? But Luke and I chatted, and he said WTH would I want that for, for my tires? And you know what - that made me ask myself questions which I already knew the answer for, and he was right, I had no reason to get it. So, I saved some $50 or so.

Question about the Contis and the road hazard warranty they come with. If I buy the Contis from TR, can I go to any tire retailer if something comes up? Or am I limited to dealing with TR in case of any event?

I'm trying to figure out if buying from a store (i.e. nationwide chain) that offers free flat repairs is worth the extra cost and whether it makes sense to avoid Contis because I can't get them locally, even though I think they're the better tire.

any Continental tire dealer can handle the road hazard waranty

I called TR this morning (it's been a crazy few days; I had forgotten that I posted the question here -- seriously. I forgot that I posted a thread less than twelve hours after I posted it.) and they transferred me to customer service... the lady on the line there said that customers don't usually have much success dealing with local retailers (in the case of a road issue with Contis). Ultimately, I'd probably end up needing to buy a new tire from TR, shipping my old one back, and then getting reimbursed for the new one. Not worth the hassle.

Take a look at the .pdf "The Road Hazard Program Certificate," too. It's in plain English.

Good to know for next time, but this is separate from Conti's Road Hazard Warranty Coverage.

The local store doesn't have electricity [right now], but it seems like I'll end up with XIce Xi2s through them. If they mess anything up, though, I'll be going straight to TR and the Contis (which is what I wanted in the bloody first place!). I just said it wouldn't be worth the hassle if something went wrong (see this very post), but these Michelins won't even *have* a road hazard warranty -- so basically, I paid more money for a lesser tire with no additional benefits! Talk about logical. Next time will be smoother.

Just put on a brand new set of dunlop winter sport 3ds and i love them. Great price from tire rack, came with lugs i didnt need, so i ended up with an extra set of lugs, nice bonus. Tires are very smooth and have excellent grip on wet pavement in sub 40f temps.

i went to Discount Tires and found a decent alloy rim and i409 Hankook package that i was able to negotiate to $807.00 plus $40.00 extra for lugs (i guess the size is different).

i know the rims will fit because they actually took my front right off and sized it, the price for the alloys is/was the same as the price for steelies, $65.00 for steel, he was willing to match for alloy, normally $78.00

Driving is limited in winter but includes ice, slush and deep snow at times. I only drive about 4-5 KM's to work at very low speed and that is as far as I would have to go any given day.

I am looking for a set of 17" that will fit with a decent set of tires. Nothing expensive and don't really care what the rims look like. What size tire and rim(17x? and ? Offset) should I be looking for to fit over the Brembo's?

I'm looking for a set of winter tires to mount on my stockers that are more "serious" oriented. I have a season pass at snowbird so I'll be driving up Little cottonwood canyon a lot. I'm thinking of staying away from studded. I'm interested in the ipikes, but I'm not really sure. My budget is pretty tight so i'd like to stay below 550 mounted and balanced. I have an offer from a shop for the ipikes mounted and balanced for 500. Should I do it? Any other suggestions?

I'm hoping someone has some insight on this. My situation is a bit different in that I need all season tires w/ the best possible snow traction. I live in an area that NEVER sees snow, and hardly ever sees rain, however I drive up to the mountains regularly during the winder where I'll see all sorts of weather. Basically I'm looking for the closest thing to a snow tire which still works good as an all season and isn't going to wear out too fast. *EDIT* Looking for 15" tires for stock Subaru Steelies.

Originally I had been looking at the General's (close to a year ago) but now am finding these other two options. Although the Michelin's are an actual snow tire it looks like, so I'm guessing they're not right for me considering 99% of my driving will be on dry pavement. If there's not a big difference between the General's and Pirelli's I'll probably opt for the Generals since they're cheap. Anyone have any input? TIA.

Have you looked at the Nokian WR G2? They are supposedly a good winter tire but are listed as all seasons. I was considering these to replace my wife's Contiextremecontacts on her OB this winter. The only downside is price and availability. They run from what I have seen $140 to $160 a tire but for your size may be cheaper. You would have to do a dealer search http://www.nokiantires.com/dealer-locator to find the closest dealer to you as tire rack doesn't carry them.